In order to facilitate large volume production of sophisticated opto-electronic assemblies, it is important to develop high productivity apparatus and methods for manufacturing precision opto-electronic assemblies. This includes avoiding the need to reposition opto-electronic components subsequent to attachment to a common platform or the use of any other post-attachment correction process.
The basic building blocks of sophisticated opto-electronic assemblies include optical components such as optical lenses, optical fibers, optical filters, optical beam splitters, optical reflectors, and wavelength selective elements, which need to be precisely positioned with respect to each other and then attached to a common platform. The alignment and attachment of these optical elements should maintain the relative position of these elements with respect to each other and to other components on the common platform at micrometer to sub-micrometer accuracy over life of the device. The development of high productivity methods and apparatus for manufacturing precision opto-electronic assemblies should also include attachment techniques which have three dimensional (3-D) freedom of movement on a common platform with micrometer to sub-micrometer accuracy for free space optical connectivity during alignment and prior to fixation of the optical elements. This should also include attachment techniques as one time alignment-attachment processes which do not require further correction or fine realignment of an optical component after attachment as opposed to the common practice at present time of implementing a post attachment correction process. These methods and apparatus should also be low cost, easy to implement, and useful for large volume manufacturing and prototype fabrication.